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This meme began to gain popularity when Na Hoon-a's song 'Tes-hyeong!', one of the title tracks from his 9th studio album "Nine Stories" released on August 20, 2020, achieved explosive popularity through the '2020 Korea Again Na Hoon-a' concert, which aired as a Chuseok special in 2020. Immediately after the broadcast, the song entered the music charts and began to climb back up. From the latter half of 2021, although its initial momentum has somewhat subsided, it continues to show its resilience as a meme.

The meme 'Even Tes-hyeong Says He Doesn't Know' originated from singer Na Hoon-a's song 'Tes-hyeong!'. This song expresses Na Hoon-a's longing for his deceased father and poses questions about life's struggles and the world's irrationalities to the philosopher Socrates. In particular, lyrics like "Ah! Tes-hyeong, why is the world like this? Why is it so hard?" resonated with many.

As a meme, 'Even Tes-hyeong Says He Doesn't Know' is used to convey that "even the wise Socrates (Tes-hyeong) wouldn't know the answer" when faced with difficult-to-solve or hard-to-understand situations, or frustrating and absurd realities. It is primarily used to express resignation towards life's complexities or absurdities, or as a humorous complaint. Furthermore, it is used in various modified forms, such as attaching 'hyeong' (a term of endearment for an older male) to other subjects, like 'XX-hyeong' or 'Ah XX-hyeong, why is YY like this?', to affectionately address them and pose questions.

Na Hoon-a's song 'Tes-hyeong!' originally gained immense popularity among middle-aged and older generations. However, the affectionate title 'Tes-hyeong' and the witty lyrics posing universal questions about life also appealed to younger generations (10s-20s) who are familiar with terms like 'uri-hyeong' (our older brother). This led to its widespread love across all generations. Therefore, this meme tends to be used by people of all ages and genders.

• "Prices have risen so much these days that even Tes-hyeong says he doesn't know."
• "Ah! Tes-hyeong, why is tomorrow's work commute like this!"
• "The exam scope is so vast that even Tes-hyeong says he doesn't know."
• It was also used to cheer for KIA Tigers' player Socrates Brito when he stepped up to bat in a baseball game, with phrases like "Tes-hyeong, a hit!" or "Tes-hyeong, a home run!"
• It is also used as a nickname for Arsenal FC's manager Mikel Arteta, as "Ah! Arteta-hyeong."

"Tes-hyeong-doh moh-roon-dah-goh hah-neh-yoh"

• Tes: Sounds like "Tess" (as in the name).
• hyeong: Sounds like "hyung" (as in the Korean term for older brother).
• doh: Sounds like "dough".
• moh-roon-dah-goh: "moh" (as in "moan"), "roon" (as in "moon"), "dah" (as in "father"), "goh" (as in "go").
• hah-neh-yoh: "hah" (as in "father"), "neh" (as in "net"), "yoh" (as in "yo").